Railway block-signal



(No Model.) 3 sheets -sheet 1.

c. H'. SHERWOOD. RAILWAY BLOCK SIGNAL. I No. 530,311. atented Dec. 4, 1894. l

Y [9mm :iiiiii WITNESSES: INVENTOR:

zfiw mw ATTORNEY.

(No Model.) a Sheets-Sheet 2.

I 0. H. SHERWOOD.

RAILWAY BLOCK SIGNAL.

A 110.530, 11. Patented Dec. 4, 1894,. m

INVENTOR ATTORNEY.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

0. H, SHERWOOD; RAILWAY BLOCK SIGNAL.

No; 530,311. Patented Dec. 4; 1894;

\ minimum-1 ill" "HE, W V V V I'NVENTOR ww g 4 ix ATTORNEY ESSES @W UNITED j STAT S PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. SHERWOOD, on UTIGA, ASSIGNORL or ONE-HALF TO HENRY o.

L YMANyOF ISHERBURNE, NEW-YORK.

RAIL W AY"BLOCK-SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forining partof Letters Patent no. 53o,311, dated December 4, 1894.

' Applioatlcnfiletl August aim Serial No. 519,724. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may coinage-5,1,1

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. SHERWOOD,

of Utica, in the county of Oneida, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railway Block- Signals, of

which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear,

and exact description. 7, t

This invention relates to the class of semaphores which are operated by the force of air pumped into a cylinder the piston of which is connected by a rodto' the semaphore.

The object of my present invention is to operate said semaphore automatically by the passing trains; and to that end the inven tion consists in the combination with a series of semaphores dividing theroad into blocks, of track-instrumentsoperated.by thepassing trains, air-pumps operated by said instru ments and generating pneumatic pressure, relief valves operated by the track-instruments, cylinders with pistonsattherespect- 1 I therebyautomatically swing the semaphore 1 .A- into its outwardly extending position ive semaphores to actuate the same, a pipe extending from the pump at each track-instrument to the semaphore actuating cyline ders at one end of the block, and a pipe lead: ing from the relief-valve at said'track-instrument to the semaphoreactuating cylinder at the opposite endof, the block; and themvention also consists in a novel construction of the track-instrument and its connection with the air-pump and air-relief valve, all as hereinafter more fully described and specifically set forth in the claims. j

In the annexed drawings Figure 1 is aplan view of a section of railway supplied with a block-signal system],and embodying my'improvements. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of one of the track-instruments with the pump and valve actuated thereby. Fig. 3 is an outer end view of thesanie. Fig.4: is a transverse section on' line .4;'4. in Fig. 2 viewed in the direction of the arrow thereat. Fig. 5 is a vertical transversesection of the air-pump and pipes connected thereto. Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section of the connection of the piston-rod of the pump with its revoluble base, and Fig. 7 is a front view of the semaphore and its connection with the track-instru ment.

sponding parts.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre- F-, denotes the railway track and -A- A-A- the semaphores. Each of these semaphores consists of the usual arm A-,which is pivoted to the upper part of a pole or tall post -Bso as to allow the arm to swing toward the track in the usual manner, and as illustrated in Fig.7 of the drawings. To said pole or post is fastened in an upright position i the air-cylinder"D which is provided with apiston as indicated by dotted lines in said figure. 'The piston-rod passes through the bottom of the cylinder and is connected by Near the opposite side of serves to depress said arm ofthe lever and by which, it indicates danger. The semaphore is thrown into a suspended position to indicate safety by means of air forced into the cylinder ,.D through the top thereof.

This latter effectl attain automatically by my present invention, which I will'now de scribe to enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same. At or near each of the described semaphores I place a track-instrument dconsisting of a horizontal shaft -gdisposed at rightangles to the outside of the trackrail,F-- and journaled to bearings secured to a sill -T- and terminated at one end with a crank g'- contiguous to the outside ofthe track-rail as shown in Fig.2 of the drawings. Said crank is held normally in an upright position so as to project above the plan'eof the track and be turned by the'wheels of the cars or engine traveling over said crank. The crankis held in said position by weight of the pump-piston -G and the following devices connected therewith: To the lower end of the piston rod is connected ahorizontal annular plate --G' by which it rides 1 upon a two-armed lever --pattached to the outer end of the shaft g and extending at right angles from opposite sides thereof and normally in a horizontal position as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. A spiral spring S- interposed between the top of the plate -G and bottom of the pumpcylinder assists in forcing the said plate with the pump-piston downward.

The repeated depressions of the crank -gby the wheels of the cars or engine passing over it, rocks the shaft -gand causes one of the arms of the lever --pto repeatedly push up the pump-piston by the bearing of said arm on the annular plate -G- as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

To obviate friction I pivot to the ends of the lever -prollers p by which it bears on the under side of the plate G', and to relieve said rollers from concussion in the descent of the said plate, I attach to the top of the lever pcushions -S of rub her or other suitable material.

In order to equalize the wear on the underside of the plate --G, I pivot the same to the piston rod as illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings.

The air inlet and outlet nozzle -N-- is attached to the top of the pump-cylinder, and in order to guard against back pressure of air in the bottom of the cylinder, I provide said bottom with ventiducts -sas shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

To the nozzle -*-N+ is attached a T- joint of a pipe, and to opposite ends of the horizontal portion of said T are connected respectively, the air-inlet 'O- and air-discharge pipe O'--== each of which is provided 'with a suitable check-valve -k--. The discharge pipe -O' is extended to and communicates with the top of the interior of the cylinder --D-- of the semaphore at the rear end of the block of the road. Hence the train of cars in leaving a block of road sets the semaphore at the rear end of the block in a position to indicate safety.

The direction in which the trains travel is indicated by an arrow in the center of the track in Fig. 1 of the drawings, said arrow also indicating the position of the train and the semaphores are shown in their resultant positions.

In order to cause the engine or train of cars to automatically signal danger over the block which said engine or train is entering, I employ the relief-valve -f which by a pipe -f-=- communicates with the top of the interior of the cylinder -D- of the adjacent semaphore A, said valve being operated to relieve the cylinder from air by means of an arm iattached to the shaft --g-- and having its free end over the top of the valvestem --tso as to depress the same when said shaft is rocked by the car-wheels traveling over the track-instrument -d. The depression of the valve-stem allows the air to escape from the cylinder '-'D-. The piston thereof is thus relieved from air pressure and allowed to be forced up by the weighted lever -c which latter at the same time draws down the rod c'- and thereby swings the semaphore-arm -A outward into a horizontal position which indicates danger. The valve is held normally in its closed position by means of a spiral spring -Z mounted on valve-cage and embracing the valve-stem -t'-- and pressing with its upper end against a pin or projection on the stem.

-Z represents an air-supply pipe attached to the inlet -O of the pump-cylinder, and -=-mdenotes an air-escape pipe attached to the valve-cage f-. Both of these pipes I extend to a suitable elevation above the ground and terminate them with short downward deflection to prevent them from becoming choked by snow.

What I claim as my invention is=-= 1. An automatic pneumatic railway signal system comprising a series of semaphores dividing the road into blocks, track-instruments operated by the passing trains, air-pumps operated by said instruments and generating pneumatic pressure, relief-valves operated by the track-instruments, cylinders with pistons at the respective semaphores to actuate the same, a pipe extending from the pump at each track-instrument to the semaphore-actuating cylinders at one end of the block and a pipe leading from the relief-valve at said track-instrument to the semaphore-actuating cylinder at the opposite end of the block as set forth.

2. In combination with the horizontal shaft -g provided with the crank -g-= to be operated by the passing engine or cars, an air-pump and a valve controlling the flow of compressed air, and a crank and lever both attached to the shaft -g and operating respectively the aforesaid pump and valve as set forth.

3. In combination with the shaft g-=- provided with the crank g', the arm -=-t, and two-armed lever 10+ attached to said tached to the lower end of the piston-rod and riding on the lever -p, and the valve ====f disposed with its valve-stem opposite the arm tas set forth and shown.

4. In combination with the shaft -=-g= provided with the crank -g'-=-, the arm -tand two-armed lever -pattached to said shaft the pump P, the plate G', at-

tached to the piston-rod and riding on the lever 12-, the springs -S- interposed between said plate and pump-cylinder, and the valve having its valve-stem opposite the arm tas set forth.

5. In combination with the shaft -=gprovided with the crank -gthe two-armed lever -pattached to said shaft, the pump --P- and the plate G pivoted to the piston-rod and riding on the aforesaid lever as set forth.

6. In combination with the shaft -=-g= pro 45 connected to the vided with the crank g', the two-armed lever 9 attached to said shaft, rollers p n"' pivoted to said lever, the pump -P ever the lever, and the plate -G'- piston-rod and extending over the aforesaid rollers as set forth. a

7. In combination with the shaft -g-- provided with the crank g-, the two-armed lever attached to said shaft, cushions --S 1o secured to the top of said lever, rollers -p' p'- pivoted to the ends of the lever, the a pump P- and the annular plate -g'- attached to thepiston-rod and riding normally on the cushions and extending over the rollers as set forth and shown.

' In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 24th day of July, .1894.

CHARLES H. SHERWOOD. [L 8.]

Witnesses:

J OHN J. LAASS, O. L. BENDIXON. 

